Reality singing competitions have come back in fashion in recent years thanks to shows like The Voice and The Masked Singer. There are still unexplored areas within the genre, however, which is good news for Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss. Not long after the talk show host announced that next season will be her last, the resident DJ has already found himself a new television series.
E! Networks announced that The Ellen DeGeneres Show's DJ tWitch will serve as the host for an upcoming music competition series with Clash of the Cover Bands as its current working title. While Boss will guide the competitors along, the new project will also boast celebrity judges including pop singer Meghan Trainor, American Idol alum Adam Lambert, and singer-songwriter Ester Dean. This isn't Trainor and Dean's first time serving as judges, either, as the performers have taken part in Fox's The Four: Battle for Stardom and NBC's Songland, respectively.
With an expected premiere date coming in the latter part of 2021, Clash of the Cover Bands will follow the tried-and-true format of television singing competitions featuring contestants performing cover versions of famous tracks. Of course, as the working title suggests, the cover bands will be battling it out against each other. Each episode will feature two bands from corresponding categories - such as Pop Divas, Boy Bands, Heavy Metal, etc - rocking out across two rounds to determine which act reigns supreme, with the winning band taking home a cash prize and harmonious bragging rights. And presumably the admiration of DJ tWitch.
During the NBC/Universal upfront presentation, judge Meghan Trainor shared with presenter Kevin Hart that the cover bands will have the chance to win $10,000, which is no small pittance. And then as an additional bonus, the pop voted on by the audience.
The connection with The Tonight Show goes even deeper with the upcoming singing competition series. The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon will serve as an executive producer on the series, which will be a joint production between Universal Television Alternative Studio and Fallon’s Electric Hot Dog banner. Electric Hot Dog’s Jim Juvonen will serve as an executive producer along with Fallon.
Clash of the Cover Bands is joining an already crowded field of singing competitions, so it helps to have well-known celebs like tWitch at the forefront. Currently, The Voice, The Masked Singer and American Idol are all barreling towards their season finales. But the E! singing competition seems to be aiming for a specific lane as a show for cover bands, while The Voice and American Idol occupy the traditional unknown-turned-superstar space, and The Masked Singer relies on highlighting celebrity’s talent. So, cover bands actually haven’t been fully explored within the current crop of shows.
Given the bad publicity and rating decline for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, it’s nice to know tWitch has already found his next gig without any big obstacles so far. Even though Clash of the Cover Bands will debut before The Ellen Show is actually over, here's hoping it's successful enough to keep him on our televisions after experiencing a difficult television season.
